Calling K.

Last year in October, someone, a complete stranger, and obviously a nincompoop, incorrectly filled in my address when starting up a new gas and electricity account. Nothing to do with me. I was just innocently going about my life.

Consequently, my account was terminated with Company X without any cross-referencing, and a new one was set up under another person's name with a Company Y. I didn't know this at the time, however.

I paid a bill in November. By late January, I began to wonder where my next bill was. I was also wondering why I was getting letters from a different power company adressed to someone who doesn't live here. But I don't open other people's mail, so I sent them back RTS.

Finally, I put aside the hour or two it usually takes when dealing with electricity and gas companies and called my provider. Or at least the company that I thought was my provider (Company X). They told me about the above termination.

After that, it's all a blur of phone calls, waiting on hold countless times, calling the Energy Ombudsman's Office and lodging a complaint, dealing with unhelpful staff from both Company X and Company Y (who, as the saga progressed, began to snippily refer to me as 'Oh yeah, the one who called the ombudsman'), and then finally reassurances that all was well followed many many weeks later by an official letter from Company Y to that effect. I waited breathlessly for a bill from Company X to prove that my account had been put back where it belonged. Nothing. I gave it a bit longer. Nada. So, I was about to get on it again (oh God, no!) when tonight, after a long day at the Arvo Job, I came home to find a letter from the power company that nily-wily hijacked my account (Company Y) addressed to - yep, you guessed it, the wrong person (a.k.a. the abovementioned nincompoop who does NOT live here).

How. Hard. Can. It. Be? I mean, all I want to do is pay my bill. Hand over money and make them rich. All Company X and Company Y have to do is tidy up their databases and, in the case of Company X, take my money.

Honestly, I won't be at all surprised if I wake up tomorrow and find (alert: here comes the expected Kafka reference) I've turned into a giant, roach-like insect.